


Waking Up With You

by literaryoblivion



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Accidental Marriage, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Drunkenness, Friends to Lovers, Kissing, Las Vegas Wedding, Love Confessions, M/M, POV Alternating, Past Jamie Benn/Katie Hoaldridge Mentions, Past Tyler Seguin/Kate Kirchof Mentions, Pining, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-28
Updated: 2019-10-28
Packaged: 2021-01-04 23:10:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 21,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21205616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/literaryoblivion/pseuds/literaryoblivion
Summary: After a devastating Game 7, Double Overtime loss to the Blues in Round 2, Jamie Benn joins Tyler Seguin and a few of the boys to drown their sorrows in booze and scantily clad men and women in Vegas. Neither Jamie and Tyler quite remember what happens their last night in Vegas, but they wake up cuddled in bed and it's nice. They don't talk about it and go their separate ways for summer vacation, moving on with their lives.That is until they find something a month later that implies they definitely got married their last night in Vegas.To each other.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> For the awesome piece that goes with this fic, [click here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21187793). Thank you for the absolutely perfect piece, Mary!!
> 
> Also thank you to my betas, Fea, Jessie, and Bri!

**Jamie**

Their end of season trip to Vegas had been a blur, as it usually was. Jamie was even more angry and upset than usual given how it ended. Double Overtime, Game 7 and they hadn’t managed a goal and lost. To the fucking Blues. Again. It was frustrating and upsetting and the last thing he wanted to do was think about it, so when Tyler and a few of the other guys all bought tickets to Vegas and asked if he wanted in, he immediately said yes.

He’d probably regret it later, but he didn’t care. He wanted alcohol and more alcohol and nameless scantily clad women and hot shirtless waiters to get his mind off of it. 

He remembers bits and pieces of it now that he’s back home in Dallas a few weeks later. He remembers being drunk by the pool, dancing with the guys and some random chicks. He’s pretty sure he made out with a few of them (the chicks, not the guys), but he’s not quite sure if he ever had sex with them. He was valiantly trying to win Katie back at the time (although now, after he pulled out all the stops to take her to Hawaii when he got back and it had failed epically, he’s given up the idea that she would take him back or love him for anything other than what he can give her).

While he can’t remember having sex with anyone (though he’s positive that doesn’t mean he didn’t), he does distinctly remember waking up in bed with Tyler their last morning in Vegas. It’d been nice actually, and they’re both comfortable enough with each other that they had stayed cuddled up under the blankets for longer than they should have, even after they knew the other was awake.

Maybe it was because they were leaving and going their separate ways soon after that, but Jamie liked that he had those few quiet moments with Tyler where they were both themselves before they went out and were the people others expected them to be. They’d hugged goodbye and held each other a little too long before they went down to breakfast with everyone else--their last unofficial team breakfast before everyone left to start their summer vacations around the world.

Tyler had gone from Vegas back to Dallas, but Jamie had gone straight to LA to get Katie before going on to Hawaii. They just missed each other after, too. By the time Jamie came back to Dallas, Tyler had already left for Toronto. Jamie tries to ignore the pang of regret at not seeing Tyler again in Dallas, but they’ll text and August will come around soon enough.

For now, Jordie is in town, and they’re training and doing yoga and dinners with the guys that are still around Dallas. He’s pretty sure Jordie came because of the pitiful call he made to him after Hawaii and San Diego with Katie. He insisted he was fine; it felt different than last summer when Katie had moved to L.A. Jordie of course didn’t believe him and flew down to Dallas, claiming his girlfriend wanted to see her family anyway.

Not that Jamie minds having Jordie around. He missed him and doesn’t see him often these days, especially after the trade and their conflicting game schedules. Although he is annoyed that Jordie keeps telling him to unpack his shit and get rid of all the Hawaii souvenirs he had bought with Katie. He hasn’t even been able to bring himself to unzip his suitcase since he’s been back in Dallas. He’s home, has plenty of clothes, he doesn’t need anything in there. A part of him even thought about just throwing it away without even opening it. He could buy new luggage, replace everything else that was in it. But, he knew one of his favorite shirts was in the bag and a pair of Tyler’s shorts had somehow gotten mixed in with his shit, too. He could also replace those, but Tyler would know and give him shit about it. 

So after almost a month of the suitcase sitting in the corner of his bedroom collecting dust, he finally grabs it, sets it on his bed, and after a fortifying breath, unzips it.

On the top is the smooshed and rotting flower lei he had received at the luau they went to before they left. Beneath the lei is a stuffed sea turtle he’d gotten, originally for Katie, but now decides his niece would probably appreciate it more. He sets the plushie aside and starts picking through his dirty clothes--underwear, shorts, button-ups, t-shirts, jeans. He gathers as many as he can in a pile and tosses them in his laundry hamper.

Considering how long he left his dirty clothes in the bag, he should probably let it air out, maybe even febreeze it considering the mix of body odor and decomposing flowers. There’s still a few dried petals at the bottom and of course sand in some of the pockets as well.

He unzips everything and carries it to his backyard to shake it all out. When he upturns it and starts shaking, he hears a rattle and then something falls out of the front pocket. He holds the suitcase up and sees something in the grass, glinting in the sunlight. Brow furrowed, he bends down and sees that it’s a simple gold ring.

Swiping it out of the grass, he holds it up closer. His first thought is that Katie had played some cruel trick on him. Had gotten in his stuff and put in a ring as some kind of joke like she’d have to be the one to propose because he never would and he’s not worth it. It doesn’t make sense, and while he’d looked for rings, and even thought about proposing in Hawaii but changed his mind when the trip started going sour, Katie had never mentioned a ring for him. 

He analyzes the ring more and notices an inscription inside that reads “TS & JB” and all the blood drains from his face. What the fuck is this? Who is TS? If he has it, the JB must be him. Or it could be Jordie, though his girlfriend doesn’t have the initials TS, and why would the ring be in his suitcase?

The only TS that Jamie knows that could be plausible is…

Tyler Seguin.

Shit.

What the hell happened in Vegas?!

* * *

**Tyler**

Tyler is finally blissfully alone at his lake house, on his boat, fishing. As much as he loves his friends and family, wants them around and to party with them, he is actually kind of glad for the peace and quiet. Two of his dogs are laying on the dock, watching him, and Gerry is in the boat, sprawled out on the other side asleep. On the lake, he doesn’t get cell reception, and he kind of likes it. He can unplug and turn off his brain and just relax.

His mom is coming up the next day, but for now it’s just him and his babies. The cool breeze rustles around him, causing tiny ripples along the lake. He’s only really half-heartedly fishing, not caring if he catches anything or not. He lets his thoughts wander and smiles when he remembers waking up with Jamie in Vegas.

He’d be lying if he said he didn’t love every second of being wrapped up in Jamie under the blankets. He’s kind of been in love with Jamie for years, but he knows nothing would happen between them. They are best friends, and he doesn’t want to fuck with that dynamic. Besides, as far as he knows, Jamie had a grand old time getting back together with Katie in Hawaii, and they’re probably already talking wedding plans. Jamie had mentioned thinking about proposing, and though he doesn’t know if it happened (and doesn’t think it did considering how he probably would’ve heard from Jamie if he had), he’s positive it’ll happen soon.

Though he kind of hopes it doesn’t. He doesn’t hate Katie persay, but he does hate how much of a mess she left Jamie right before the season. Tyler basically had to pick up the pieces, especially since Jordie could only help so much being long-distance. Every time heartsick Jamie had tweeted Katie for attention, he’d cringed, but he’d told himself it was Jamie’s life and Jamie could embarrass himself all he wanted. He had tried to talk to him after the first time about how Katie was clearly ignoring him, that he was only embarrassing himself publicly and setting himself up for more heartache, but Jamie told him to fuck off and mind his own business. So he had.

He thought he was being a good friend by talking to Jamie about it, but clearly Jamie didn’t need him. So he left him alone (and got his own temporary girlfriend to take his mind and heart off of Jamie), and it seemed to have worked in Jamie’s favor, so it didn’t matter anyway. He just hoped Jamie was happy. That’s how you truly know you love someone, huh? That you hope they end up happy, even if it means they don’t end up with you.

It’s why that last morning in Vegas had meant so much to Tyler. It’d probably be one of the last he’d get to be so comfortable with Jamie in bed. It might even be the last time Jamie would come on their end of season Vegas trip, especially if Katie and him were permanently on again. He and Jamie had stayed cuddled together even though they both knew the other was awake. Tyler desperately wanted the morning to never end, pretended to be asleep wrapped up with Jamie for as long as he could. Jamie was warm and big and for this brief moment of time, his. They were alone in this bed, no one else around, in a random room in a fancy Vegas hotel. It was like this little snapshot, a bubble, and once they left the room, the warmth of the bed, the bubble would pop and they could never get it back. 

And that’s exactly what happened. Both he and Jamie lingered in bed, took their time showering and packing and getting ready. Neither of them mentioning or even questioning how they ended up in bed together, the night before. They moved around each other in comfortable silence, and when they couldn’t prolong the inevitable any further, their phones blowing up with texts from the guys asking when they were coming down to breakfast and to get their asses out of bed already, they hugged for a long time to say goodbye. 

A private hug that no one would see, a hug that made Tyler’s chest ache because it was more than just a bro saying bye or even a best friend saying goodbye. It felt final, like they would probably never hug like this ever again. This morning was special and wonderful, and it would never happen again. What stays in Vegas and all that.

They had both held onto each other too tightly, too long, and when both of their phones buzzed again, they finally pulled away, grabbed their bags and headed down to the restaurant where everyone else was waiting. The elevator ride down was silent, and Tyler had wanted to cry, had wanted to hold Jamie’s hand, had wanted to beg him not to go to Hawaii with Katie, to come back to Dallas with him and be with him.

But he didn’t, and when the elevator doors opened on the main floor, he’d taken a breath, slapped on his most charming, devil-may-care smile, and walked out to the restaurant, not even looking behind him for Jamie, despite how badly he wanted to. They had breakfast with the guys, and then they all said goodbye and parted ways, Jamie giving him a smile and a pat on the back before taking his Uber to the airport.

Tyler’s flight left later, so he went straight to the bar and ordered drinks while he waited. By the time he made it back to Dallas, he had no idea how he ended up home--though it was probably Ritchie, since they were on the same flight back. He vaguely recalled saying hello to his dogs and letting them out and then back in before passing out on his couch. Then he woke up with a massive headache at 3am, popped some Tylenol and downed a gatorade before crawling up the stairs to his bed to fall asleep again.

The rest of that week back in Dallas was much the same. He drank and partied with random people, some he knew, some he didn’t, drank more, passed out and woke up to a headache and a messy kitchen, then did it all over again. Everything that happened in Vegas and then at home in Dallas blends and blurs with each other, and he’s kind of okay with not remembering the majority of it. He was mad about the season; he was upset about getting so hung up on his best friend, pissed at himself for not resisting it, and sad that he couldn’t do anything about it. So he drank and fucked and drank and swam and partied and tried to forget all of it.

Now that he’s at his lake house though, with the light wind rustling the trees and the sound of birds chirping, he wishes he could remember some of it. He wishes he could remember how he and Jamie had ended up in that bed together in Vegas. Had they passed out? Had Tyler dragged him to his room because Jamie was too drunk to remember his own room number? Jamie’s luggage had been in his room though, so they must have gone to Jamie’s room at some point. Had they done more than just sleep? Had they kissed?

God, the thought of having kissed Jamie Benn and not having any recollection of it is like a shot to his heart. He’s imagined kissing Jamie so many times, had fantasized about all the different ways it could go, how it might happen. He’d thought about it being slow and hesitant when he and Jamie were just chilling on the couch watching TV, pictured it being hard and angry after a shouting match with each other about something stupid or about Katie. He’d imagined it coming as a surprise, with Jamie initiating the kiss and not him.

All the ways he could picture it happening and what would follow after the kiss torture him, had for years, and if it had actually happened and he had no idea, that would be ten times worse.

He pushes it from his mind. Nothing probably happened. They probably passed out or he told Jamie he had more drinks and just to come to his room, and Jamie knew Tyler well enough to know he’d never be conscious enough to go back to his own room so he grabbed all his stuff and followed Tyler to his.

More than likely.

With a sigh, Tyler gives up fishing for the day. He’d caught a couple, enough for dinner, and the sun is starting to set, so he packs it in and pulls the cord for the engine to go back to shore. At the noise and movement, Gerry sits up and stares at him, watching as Tyler gets the boat turned and moving closer to his brothers. When they get to the dock, Gerry jumps out and the other two dogs bark and then all three run off to the house while Tyler ties the boat to the dock.

He grabs the small cooler with the couple of fish he has and his pole and heads back to his house. Tonight he’s alone, his mom and sisters planning on coming the next day. It’ll be good to have them, but he’s grateful for the reprieve and solitude.

Once at the house, he starts the grill to warm up and opens the door for the dogs to go in ahead of him. He sets out for the kitchen and puts the cooler next to the sink to start dismantling the fish. Before he can grab a knife to get started, his doorbell rings.

He pauses a moment, brow furrowed because he’s not expecting anyone. The bell rings again, causing the dogs to bark and run to the entryway, and he shrugs going to the front door. He yells at the dogs to stay put before he opens the door and sees a person in a FedEx uniform with a large envelope in his hand.

“Mr. Seguin?” the man asks. Tyler nods, and the man hands him the envelope and then a handheld scanner and a stylus. “Will you sign for it, please?”

“Yeah,” Tyler says, tucking the envelope under his arm while he signs the screen.

“Have a good day!” the delivery man says before turning around and going back down the driveway, climbing into his truck, and driving off.

Puzzled, Tyler looks at the envelope as he absently shuts the door and goes back to the kitchen. It looks like it was shipped from Dallas. He tears open the envelope and takes out a small stack of more envelopes. There’s a piece of paper at the top, and he scans it.

_Hey thanks for letting me crash at your place for a few days after you left. Don’t worry I locked everything up and set the code and everything, so unless there’s a tornado in Highland Park, your house will still be here when you get back. I checked your mail and some of these looked kind of important, especially the one with the post-it. Figured I’d just ship it to you in case it was. You’re welcome. If you need me to check on the pool over the summer, and maybe use it ;) let me know! See you in August, dude! Have a great summer! ~Harrison_

Tyler rolls his eyes and sets the paper down on the counter and thumbs through the pile of mail in the envelope. Most are unimportant, and he sets them aside to find the one Harrison mentioned. There’s a blue post-it on a larger envelope with an address indicating it’s from the Regional Justice Center of Clark County Las Vegas. His mind races thinking of what it could possibly be and what the hell he did in Vegas. Is it a ticket? Harrison seems to think so considering his post-it:

_Damn, bro. How much trouble did you get into in Vegas??? Guess it doesn’t stay there if you broke the law! :(_

Quickly, Tyler tears the envelope and takes out the folded paper. He unfolds it and stares at it for a long while, confused about what the hell he’s staring at.

It’s a marriage license.

“What the fuck?” he whispers to himself as he scans the page and then freezes when he gets to the names and signatures at the bottom.

The rest of the mail he was holding in his hands tumbles to the ground, and he nearly follows it himself in shock and panic.

His name is definitely at the bottom of the page along with a signature that he knows is his.

The other signature?

Jamie Benn’s.

“What the actual fuck?”

He goes back to the envelope, but nothing else is in there. He kneels on the ground to gather up the fallen mail and quickly thumbs through it, but the rest are bills or junk mail and there’s nothing else from Harrison. He even rips open the FedEx envelope, but there’s nothing.

“What the fuck?” he repeats, knowing that he’s almost near hyperventilating he’s freaking out so much, mind reeling. He knows Harrison isn’t nearly smart enough to pull off an extended joke like this, let alone get someone from a county job to get in on it. He stares back at the marriage license, and he can tell those signatures aren’t forgeries. He’s seen Jamie sign his name enough to know that’s definitely his handwriting.

“Oh. My. God,” he says, sinking down to the floor of his kitchen, burying his head in his hands. The dogs whine around him and try to lick his legs and arms, sensing his stress.

“What am I going to do?” Tyler mutters to himself, having no idea how this even happened. 

If he doesn’t remember, he doubts Jamie does either. Maybe he can quietly get it annulled or something. Do both people have to be present and sign something to do that? Maybe he can tear it up and throw it away. If neither of them remember, they can pretend it didn’t happen. But will that be a problem if Jamie goes to marry Katie? Will it come back to haunt them both if Tyler just ignores it and throws away the license like he never knew it existed?

“Shit. Shit shit shit shit fucking shit fuck fucking fuck.”

He tries to breathe in deep, control his racing thoughts and emotions, and focus on breathing in and out and then decide what the next step is. After a few moments, his racing heart isn’t beating quite as fast, and he doesn’t feel like he’s drowning and gasping for air. Then he sits up and stares at the piece of paper still up on the counter across from him. 

He knows what he should do, who he should call first, but he’s nervous and scared about the reaction. Maybe… He glances down at his watch, noting the day. No, Jamie is back in Dallas now. Logically he knows that since he saw his Instagram post saying as much a few days before.

Marshall sidles up in front of him, and Tyler looks back at his long face and puppy dog eyes. “This is going to suck, bud,” Tyler says, and as if in answer, Marshall lays down and rests his head on Tyler’s thigh.

With a sigh, Tyler fishes his phone out of his pocket and scrolls through his contacts until he gets to “Captain, my captain” and presses call. He holds the phone to his ear, and as it rings he squeezes his eyes shut and prays to whoever might be listening that this doesn’t ruin his entire life and the friendship he worked so hard to maintain.

It rings and rings and Tyler has a moment where he thinks Jamie won’t answer, and he can’t decide if he’s hoping for that rather than talking to him in person. Of course on the last possible moment, the line picks up.

“_Hello?_” 

Tyler takes a deep breath and in a quiet barely there voice he says, “Jamie? I… Are you busy? We… we need to talk.”

On the other line he can hear Jamie let out a long sigh before saying, “_Yeah, we do._”


	2. Chapter 2

**Jamie**

Jamie had avoided calling Tyler. He knew he needed to, knew that as soon as he had found the ring he should’ve called Tyler and asked him what the hell had happened in Vegas that night before they woke up in bed together. Because that’s the only period of time in which Jamie can think something happened in which he somehow ended up with a ring with his and Tyler’s initials.

Had it been some best-bro bonding thing, like matching friendship bracelets, that their drunken selves thought was a great idea at the time? Or was it something else? Is it what Jamie hopes to God isn’t true but is deathly afraid it is? Did they get married in Vegas?

Surely, that’s impossible. Someone would’ve stopped them; they would’ve had pictures or something on their phones, because Tyler can’t stop himself from documenting every stupid thing and posting it to his Instagram stories. But Jamie searched his phone, even in the recently deleted folder, and found nothing even remotely close to him and Tyler near a chapel or alone in a limo, or kissing at an altar.

And he’d never admit to a soul that he was a little disappointed by that.

So he knows he should’ve gone straight to the source and asked Tyler, but instead, he stuffed the ring in his sock drawer and forgot about it and went back to ignoring Jordie’s pestering for him to get out and find someone to distract him from Katie. He’d already found that distraction, and Jamie didn’t want to talk to him. It was enough to just worry and fret and think about the possibilities of that night, of what that ring he found could mean, and what the hell he was going to do about it. Katie wasn’t even on his mind anymore at all. All he could think about was Tyler.

And then of course when he’s happily ignoring everything and everyone, mindlessly flipping through channels avoiding anything hockey related--the last thing he wants to watch is the Blues get closer to the Stanley cup than he’s ever gotten--his phone rings and it’s, of course, Tyler.

He stares at his phone, Tyler’s grinning face staring up at him as it rings and rings and rings. He has the thought to let it go to voicemail, or even turning it off altogether. Maybe he could change his number, get a new one tomorrow. He can’t though, too much work, besides there’s no way he can avoid Tyler anyway. 

So at the last possible minute, he pushes answer and says, “Hello?”

“_Jamie?_ _I… Are you busy? We… we need to talk._”

Tyler’s voice sounds small and afraid, and something else that Jamie’s not quite sure he can identify. He’s never heard Tyler like this except for maybe once when he’d missed practice before the game Jamie’d won the Art Ross. He’d called to apologize, and it was like he was a mouse approaching a sleeping cat. 

He must be calling about the ring, about that night. Maybe Tyler found something, maybe he remembered what happened, called to explain. Jamie has the brief thought that maybe Tyler’s known this whole time but was waiting for Jamie to say something and couldn’t take it anymore. Maybe Tyler’s feeling guilty about it, realized that whatever happened was bad enough he needed to confess rather than sweep it under the rug. 

It doesn’t seem like Tyler though, he’s usually the first to admit he’s done something wrong, wants forgiveness as soon as possible. Jamie sighs, knowing he can’t prolong this any further.

“Yeah,” he says, “we do.”

Jamie turns off the TV, and though he knows Jordie is out with his girlfriend and will likely be gone well into the evening, he still retreats to his bedroom and shuts the door.

“_So,_” Tyler says after a little while, after Jamie’s already walked up the stairs and shut the door. He’s debating on whether to sit down on his bed or pace.

“So.” 

“_How was Hawaii?_” Tyler asks, his tone coming off as light and friendly, but the switch is dramatic and forced, even Jamie can tell.

Jamie shrugs even though he knows Tyler can’t see. “It was… fine.”

“_Fine?_ _That’s… it? You’re on a beach in supposed paradise, and it was fine?_” There’s a pause and then Tyler asks, voice sounding softer, concerned, “_Did… something happen?_” 

A part of Jamie doesn’t want to tell Tyler, doesn’t want his sympathy or pity or even outrage at Katie, but the other part wants to tell Tyler, wants him to comfort him and tell him he’s too good for her or that he’ll get over her or… something.

“We… Katie and I broke up.” There’s silence on the other line. “It’s pretty permanent this time though, if you’re wondering,” Jamie adds, knowing that’s exactly what Tyler is thinking.

After a few moments of just hearing Tyler breathe, Jamie hears, “_I’m sorry, Jams. Are you… okay?_”

“Yeah. Sort of. Jordie’s in town, trying to distract me, you know? But I’m… good. It feels… different from last time. Like it’s final, and this time, I’m… I’m still sad and upset, but I’m also okay with it? I don’t know. It’s weird.”

“_Hmm yeah. I understand. Was it… mutual?_”

Jamie laughs bitterly. “Not really. The Hawaii trip kind of blew up towards the end, and we had a big fight. We both changed our flights and left, and I haven’t heard from her since. I was… I thought that getting away would be good for us, you know? Like we could start over, but I kind of just felt used the whole time, and she spent more time with our friends than with me.” Jamie sighs and rubs his eyes, hoping he doesn’t start crying.

“_Fuck her. You don’t want someone like that, Jamie. You deserve someone that wants to spend all their time with you, someone that cares about you and gives you what you need just as much as you give them what they need. You deserve someone to love you with their whole-heart, not just for what you can buy them._”

Jamie smiles at Tyler’s words, at how incensed Tyler is getting on his behalf. He said similar things the last time they had broken up, but it feels different now. Last time, Tyler had been angry at Katie, but because of the mess she had left Jamie in right before the season, upset that he had to be the one to pick up the pieces.

Now he sounds more upset for Jamie, sorrowful almost, but there’s this tinge of hope, maybe, or conviction perhaps when he says that Jamie deserves someone better. Like he believes what he’s saying, that he knows it to be true, and that he might know someone that fits the description.

But, maybe Jamie’s reading too much into that.

“Thanks, Ty.”

“_I mean it, Jamie._”

“I know you do. Thank you.” 

The line goes quiet again on both sides, and Jamie plays with the hem of his shirt, uncertain if he should just suck it up and bring up the ring he found or wait for Tyler’s reason for calling. When he can’t take it anymore, he asks,

“Tyler?”

“_Hmmm?_”

“Do you… was there… I--” Jamie sighs frustratedly, unsure what to say or what he’s even trying to say at all. “Do you remember our last night in Vegas?”

There’s a quick intake of breath before Tyler finally answers, “_No._” A beat of silence. “_Do you?_”

“No. But… I think…” Jamie goes quiet, almost a whisper like he’s afraid to voice his thoughts. “I think something happened that night. Between us.”

More silence, but this time Jamie waits Tyler out. 

“_I think you might be right. That’s… um, that’s why I called._”

Jamie nods though Tyler can’t see it. If Jamie has a ring, so must Tyler, and he must have found it too like Jamie had. “I found one too, in my suitcase. It, uh, took awhile for me to find it though.”

“_What?_” 

“I had things I had bought for Katie in there, okay? I was avoiding unpacking after Hawaii. I just barely found it.”

“_Jamie, what the hell are you talking about? Found what?_”

“The ring!” Jamie shouts. “The ring with our initials on it. You found one too, right? I don’t know if it’s some kind of friendship token or what, but it also looks a hell of a lot like a wedding ring, but that can’t possibly--”

“_Jamie! I didn’t find a ring!_” Tyler yells, cutting Jamie off.

“You… you didn’t? You don’t have one?”

“_I… No? I mean, I don’t know. I might? I haven’t come across one, but given what I do have… it’s likely I have a matching ring somewhere._” Tyler mutters the last part bitterly.

“What do you mean given what you have? What do you have?”

There’s a long sigh over the line, and Jamie can picture Tyler rubbing his forehead as he does it. “_I got a letter in the mail, well not a letter, a license._”

Confused, Jamie prompts, “So?”

“_A marriage license, Jamie. _Our _marriage license._” 

All the blood drains from Jamie’s face, and he’s suddenly grateful he’s sitting on his bed. “What? What do you mean _our _marriage license?”

“_I mean yours and mine, Jamie. As in your signature and my signature are both on this fucking thing because we apparently got married in fucking Vegas!_” Tyler shouts across the line, and he sounds almost hysterical.

Jamie’s mind has gone blank and all he hears is static. Married? A marriage license? With Tyler?! He can’t--he feels like he can’t breath, but he must be since he’s still alive. That ring he found must be a wedding ring. But how… how could that have happened? How could they actually be married?

“_Jamie? Are you-- Jamie, can you hear me?”_

He’s not sure how long it’s been, but Tyler’s voice finally registers and he can hear him asking if he’s okay.

“Yeah. I… I’m okay. I can hear you,” he finally chokes out.

“_Jamie… I… I don’t know what to do. What do we do?_” Tyler sounds like he’s a scared little boy, voice quiet and soft and, if Jamie didn’t know any better, on the verge of tears. 

With a soft sigh, Jamie says, “I don’t know, Ty. Maybe we should call someone, get a lawyer or something.” That seems to make sense. They can quietly get this annulled, and it’ll be like it never happened. As far as he can tell no one knows about it, hell, he and Tyler didn’t even know about it until recently.

“_Yeah_,” Tyler says, and he almost sounds disappointed.

Jamie’s afraid to ask, but he decides to anyway. “Is that… not what you want? Get it annulled and forget about it?”

He’s met with silence, and Jamie’s anxiety grows the longer Tyler doesn’t say anything. Maybe he shouldn’t have asked, maybe he should’ve ignored what he thought was disappointment coming from Tyler and barrelled on, gotten a lawyer and got this marriage license annulled and been done with it.

“_I think maybe it’s better that we talk about this in person. There’s… I think there’s more we need to… discuss, and I don’t want to do this over the phone miles apart,”_ Tyler finally says, and part of Jamie agrees with the sentiment. This whole phone call has been excruciating and made so much worse with the fact that he can’t see Tyler’s face right now, can’t read his body language to really know and understand what he’s thinking and feeling. Jamie can read Tyler like a book, but over the phone, he can barely interpret his tone of voice to get his true meaning.

But the other part of Jamie isn’t sure how talking about their quickie, drunken wedding in person is going to result in anything different than them calling a lawyer and annulling it. But, if Tyler needs this, then Jamie is willing.

“Alright,” he agrees. Then tries to think of how they should do this, who should fly where and when.

“_The Raptors are in the NBA finals, last game is in a couple days_,” Tyler remarks, and it makes Jamie blink at the abrupt and seemingly random change of subject.

“Okay? Uh, yeah. I heard about it. That’s… uh good for them?”

Tyler sighs, and Jamie swears he can visualize the eye roll that went with it. “_Maybe you should get tickets and come up and see it. We could… go together? And then we could… talk. After. Or before? I guess. Whichever._”

Jamie pauses, taking in what Tyler’s just said. “Are you… are you asking me to go to this game with you?”

Again, Tyler can hear the shrug he’s sure Tyler does when he says, “_If you want? I was already thinking about going. It’s Toronto. And I figured, I don’t know, you might want to get away? It’d be a good excuse and… I just so happen to have an apartment here not far from the arena, so…_”

“So, yes, you are asking me to go with you.”

Tyler huffs, angrily. “_It was just an idea. It’s fine. Nevermind. I’ll call someone to take care of this. Don’t worry about it._”

“No! Tyler, wait! That’s not... I’ll come up. We’ll go to the game. Then talk. It’s a good idea. I was already thinking about getting tickets when Jordie mentioned they were in the finals. I want to come. It’ll be fun, and… I’d like to see you.”

“_Yeah? You’ll come up?_” Suddenly Tyler’s voice sounds brighter and hopeful as opposed to the angry and dismissive tone he had fifteen seconds earlier.

“Yeah. I will. I’ll look at flights and tickets and let you know.”

“_Awesome. I guess I’ll um see you soon?_”

“Definitely.”

“_Cool. Um… Talk to you later, then._” 

“Bye.”

Jamie ends the call and stares down at the phone in his hand. 

“What the fuck?” he mutters to himself. He feels it’s a good all-encompassing phrase for the entire situation including that fucking phone call. What the hell did he just agree to? Why did he agree to go to Toronto?! 

It’s true, he had toyed with the idea of going to the NBA final game in Toronto; he and Jordie had talked about it. It’d be fun and it’d be good to be there, see Canada win and all that. But he hadn’t thought about it more than that, and Jordie hadn’t brought it up again, so he probably hadn’t thought of it either. Now he was going, and not just to go to the game but to see Tyler and to… talk.

The thing was, why? Why were they having to talk about this? In person? He supposes they might have had to meet in person with a lawyer, but most of these things could’ve been done by email and they could’ve left it at that. But Tyler had been so hesitant to even call a lawyer, and Jamie couldn’t fathom why. Why was Tyler demanding he come up and have them talk in person before calling a lawyer or getting this all annulled like they both want? 

At least… he thinks that’s what they want. Maybe there’s something more that Tyler isn’t saying, or can’t say. Perhaps Tyler isn’t telling him the whole truth, or he’s too afraid to tell him something over the phone. Maybe there’s something else involved, or... someone else. Blackmail? Maybe someone has evidence of their marriage and is threatening Tyler with leaking it to the press if he doesn’t do something or pay an exorbitant amount or something and he needs Jamie’s help? Given Tyler’s past, perhaps he’s afraid of what might happen to him and his career and in turn Jamie’s if this gets out.

Or maybe they did something else that night besides accidentally get married? Although Jamie can’t even think what that could be, and he highly doubts it would be worse than the situation they’re in now. 

He tries to think of what else could be keeping Tyler resistant. He runs his fingers through his hair and pauses when the stray thought crosses his mind that Tyler just doesn’t want it to be annulled. Period. Because… he wants to be married. To Jamie? Would Tyler want to stay married to Jamie? 

Jamie almost laughs out loud at that preposterous thought. They’d never done anything more than close, best friends did, and maybe they were a little more tactile with each other, but Tyler was that way with all his “bros.” Jamie wasn’t any different. There’s no way that’s the reason Tyler doesn’t want this farce to be annulled. That’s stupid, right? Being married to each other?

He lays back on his bed staring up at the ceiling and lets himself imagine what it would be like to be married to Tyler. He chuckles to himself because he honestly can’t see it being any different than it is now. Except there might be a little more romance than their friendship currently entails, and shockingly, he finds himself unbothered by that thought. 

He pictures them coming home from a rough game and instead of driving their separate cars to their own homes, they share a car home and curl up in the same bed. Maybe share a kiss or two before crashing from exhaustion. He imagines waking up next to Tyler, just like he did that morning in Vegas, and instead of ignoring the urges to pull him in closer or brush his hair from his forehead, allowing himself to do all that because he can since it’s his husband instead of his best friend and teammate.

But surely, Tyler’s not interested in that sort of domesticity, especially not with Jamie. He’s never said anything or made any kind of move, not that Jamie’s been all that observant or looking for anything since he’d never thought of it either.

No, there must be something else, and the more Jamie thinks about it, blackmail sounds more and more plausible. He goes to his computer and searches for flights and tickets as well as googling things about blackmail, looking up some names and contacts of people that could help if need be, his lawyer (which he resists calling for now until he’s met with Tyler), and some more trusted media people that might have heard something.

He doesn’t contact any of them, but he gets them ready just in case, saves them in his phone. As he finalizes his flight details and purchases game tickets, he hears the front door open, Jordie’s home, and he tries to think of how he’s going to tell Jordie about all this without exactly telling him about all of it. 

* * *

**Tyler**

Tyler ends the call with a sigh and buries his head in Marshall’s fur, who has taken the majority of the call to sprawl out on Tyler’s lap. He kind of appreciates it considering. Dogs have a sense about these things, he’s sure. 

God, why did he do that? He is so stupid, inviting Jamie up to Toronto and demanding they talk about it in person. He’s just prolonging this whole thing, and for what? Why?

Part of him thinks that maybe he can convince Jamie it’s not a big deal, that they can sweep it under the rug. He can do that better in person than he can over the phone. He could hear Jamie’s shock and his captain-mode of fixing it come out through the phone, but underneath that, how is Jamie really feeling about all of this? Is he really that disgusted at the thought of getting and being married to Tyler, or is it more that he’s concerned about their career, and the team? There’s no way Tyler could be able to know that over the phone, which is why he thought it’d be better to have this conversation in person.

But the more he thinks about it, and really looks at himself, he knows deep down that the better part of him knows what he’s hoping will happen when they meet in person. Especially after hearing that Jamie and Katie broke up. It’s that ridiculous part of him that hopes he can woo Jamie, or at least convince him that this accidental wedding wasn’t as much of a drunken mistake as it seems. 

They could try it out, try being together. It’s something he’s imagined before, on lonely nights after a loss when he wishes he could just go home with Jamie and curl up with him in bed, or after a particularly good win where he imagines being fucked into the mattress by Jamie for a GWG. He’s pictured everything in between too, the stupid fights over dirty dishes, the quiet evenings cuddled on the couch with his boys at their feet, comfortable in the house they own and live in together.

The logical part of his brain doesn’t think he can convince Jamie, but he sure as hell could try. He could at least persuade him in thinking that if they do go about getting this wedding annulled, it might get leaked somehow to the media. And they can’t have that--not now, not after all the shit that’s happened both in his past and this last year with Lites’s comments. 

That reasoning would at least give Jamie pause, might make him wait things out so they could do a little more research. Just how many people know about this impromptu wedding? (It can’t be much though if it took them this long to even realize it happened.) Maybe they could call the chapel, figure out what exactly happened. Surely the chapel keeps documentation, could provide more insight into their blacked out night in Vegas.

Tyler briefly toys with the idea of pulling a “Hangover” and flying to Vegas with Jamie, retracing their steps to figure out what happened. Maybe it would be enough time and close proximity enough for Jamie to fall for him, for real and sober this time.

It sounds so stupid as soon as he thinks of it. He shakes his head and slowly pushes Marshall off his lap to stand up from the floor. He moves about his kitchen, trying to remember what he was even doing before he found that letter and had that disaster of a phone call with Jamie.

The cooler next to the sink catches his eye, and he remembers the fish and the grill. He grabs a knife and sets about gutting and cleaning the fish. He hopes the action is enough to distract him from his tangle of thoughts over this whole mess with Jamie. It’s not, of course, but he does his best to focus, if only so he doesn’t slice his hand open.

They can’t go to Vegas, he thinks, as he slips his knife down the fish. They do need to do research though, see how contained the situation really is. Actually flying to Vegas would be a waste of time and money. Why would Jamie suddenly fall for him once they were in Vegas? What would being in Vegas do? It’s not like the atmosphere would spark any memories since neither of them could remember a damn thing about that night.

No, he’ll talk to Jamie in Toronto and lay everything out on the table--their options, his feelings, all of it. And if Jamie rejects him like he suspects he might, well, he’ll at least have the rest of the summer to get over it.

His movements are almost mechanical as he finishes his cuts of the fish, wrapping and storing some in the fridge for tomorrow. He tries to have his mind blank, pushing aside thoughts of what would happen, positive or negative, that might result from their impending conversation. He takes the veggies he’d prepared earlier and takes that and his dinner to the grill on a tray. The grill is plenty hot given how long it’s been on while he was talking to Jamie. 

It can’t have been that long of a phone call, but it seems like it’s been years since he found out he’d unknowingly married Jamie, his teammate, best friend, and love of his life.

It’ll probably seem like another several years until he sees and talks with Jamie face to face, too, and when that happens, who knows what the real next few years of his life will be like?


	3. Chapter 3

**Jamie**

“Chubbs! You home?”

“Yeah,” Jamie calls out from his room. He takes a screenshot of his flight details and makes a mental note to send it to Tyler. The flight he found is the day after tomorrow, the day before the game, and unfortunately, that was the best he could pull off so last minute. Besides, it gives him a little more time to figure out what he’s even going to say when he sees Tyler. How he’s going to ask what it is that Tyler’s hiding from him. Tyler might be incredibly open, but if it’s something he’s determined to keep secret, it’s damn near impossible to pull it out of him.

He emerges from his bedroom and climbs down the stairs to see Jordie rummaging through the fridge. Jamie checks his watch for the time, and it’s later than he expected, but still earlier than when he thought Jordie would be home.

“What are you doing here?” Jamie says, wincing when he realizes how accusatory it sounds.

“That hurts, bro. What, you don’t want me here? Got a hot date or hook-up coming over or something?” Jordie asks. Jamie knows he’s teasing, but he can also hear the hope Jordie has in his voice too, like he hopes Jamie says yes because it will mean he’s finally moving on from Katie. 

“No, I just… I thought you were out with Jessica. I figured you’d be back like... tomorrow.”

Jordie shrugs and pulls out some leftover pasta from the night before and a gatorade, shutting the fridge before moving to the microwave. “One of her girlfriends was in crisis, and she went over to comfort her. So, here I am.”

“Ah.”

“Want any?” Jordie asks, holding up the container as he puts it in the microwave. Jamie shakes his head because one, he doesn’t feel like pasta, and two there’s no way there’s enough for both of them.

He takes his own look in the fridge, and after surveying it determines to make himself an omelet. He pulls the ingredients out and takes them to the stove. He asks Jordie about his day, what he did with Jessica and about this friend she had to rescue. He’s not quite paying attention since he’s trying to figure out how to tell Jordie about his impromptu trip to Toronto and how he’s going alone and not with Jordie.

Once his omelet is done, he takes his plate and a water from the fridge and sits across from Jordie at the kitchen table. Jordie’s almost done eating, but he seems content to sit there and watch while Jamie eats. 

“So what did you do today?” Jordie asks after Jamie’s settled and taken a bite of his dinner, of course. 

Jamie chews and swallows before answering, “I talked to Segs today.”

Jordie nods and lifts his eyebrows like this is normal and he’s waiting for more information.

“He, uh, invited me to go with him to the Raptors game.”

“Yeah? And?”

“And… I decided to go.” He quickly adds once it springs to mind, “And he wanted me to see his lake house, since I’ve never been.”

Jamie looks down at his plate, too afraid to see Jordie’s reaction. Jordie could always tell when he was lying, and while this isn’t entirely a lie, it also isn’t entirely the truth either.

“That’s awesome! Although tell that bastard that it’s not cool he didn’t include me on this. Jerk.” 

Jamie laughs. “I think he figured you’d want more time with your girlfriend.”

“Well that’s awfully generous of him,” Jordie says with a grin before swigging the rest of his gatorade down. “When are you going? Game’s soon yeah?”

“My flight leaves day after tomorrow. Game’s the next day.”

Jordie nods in understanding and then looks at Jamie with a small smile. “This is good, bro.”

“Good, how?” Jamie asked confused.

“It’ll be good for you to, you know, be away.” He gestures with his hand to encompass everything around them, and he doesn’t want to, but Jamie understands what he’s talking about. 

“And,” Jordie adds, “I’m sure Tyler will have enough things planned to distract you from being all mopey. I think this is a great idea.” He sighs. “Hopefully when you come back from this trip, you’ll be a little more normal and not so hung up on _her_.” 

Jamie resists rolling his eyes at how Jordie mentions Katie without ever saying her name. But once he thinks about what Jordie’s said, how he’s on board with this idea because it will snap him out of his funk and get his mind off of Katie, he finds himself agreeing. 

“Yeah. Maybe,” he mumbles, playing around with the last remnants of eggs on his plate. Jordie stands and claps him on the shoulder, giving it a squeeze before rinsing off his dishes and putting them in the dishwasher.

“I’m going to hit the shower and go to bed. You good?” Jordie turns to ask.

Jamie waves him off. “Yeah, I’m fine. Need to do laundry and figure out what to pack and stuff. I’m fine.”

With a cheesy salute, Jordie leaves Jamie alone in the kitchen and retreats to the guest room and bathroom he’s claimed for the summer. 

Slowly, Jamie finishes off his meal and takes his dishes to rinse off and put in the dishwasher. He thinks about what Jordie’s said, about how he’s hoping this trip and Tyler, specifically, will get him out of his “still hung up on Katie” funk. But the more Jamie thinks about it, the more he realizes that since he’s discovered that ring, he hasn’t really thought more about Katie, at least not like he had when they had broke up the year before.

He’s mostly been thinking about Tyler, or trying _not_ to think about Tyler and not succeeding. He’s wondered about what actually happened in Vegas, about what he would say to Tyler about the ring he’d found or if he would say anything at all. Katie has crossed his mind, sure, but mostly in passing thoughts when he sees something that reminds him of her. But his mind has been, for the most part, preoccupied with thoughts of Tyler not Katie. 

He stares at the kitchen that he’s now cleaned, and retreats to his bedroom with nothing better to do and not feeling like watching TV. Since his flight leaves soon, he decides it’s probably smart to start gathering things to pack, so he methodically goes through his closet, pulling items out for his trip. He takes the pile of clothes in his arms and carries them to his room to set on his bed. He goes through his drawer to pull out socks, underwear and sees the ring he’d stashed there. His wedding ring.

Carefully he picks it up, thumbing the engraving of their initials. He wonders what made them do it, decide to get married. Getting a mistake of a tattoo, sure, but married? He can’t think of how they even thought it was a great idea. 

Maybe it had something to do with Katie, since he’d just gotten back together with her at the time and was trying to do everything he could to make her happy and keep her. Perhaps he’d bemoaned to Tyler about it, about how Katie wanted to get married, but he wasn’t sure he even wanted that, or that he needed practice. He knew that was the next logical step for the relationship, but despite knowing that, knowing that’s what he _should_ do, the thought of getting married scared Jamie. 

Knowing Tyler and how much he tries to help and be the good best friend, he probably suggested that they test it out. That Jamie could try the whole marriage thing with him first, see if it was something he could handle, if he liked it. 

Now it sounds absolutely stupid, but they were drunk, so maybe it sounded like a genius idea to them at the time.

He’s amazed it’s taken them this long to realize what they did, that someone hadn’t gotten word of their marriage and the story of their wedding hadn’t gotten leaked somehow. Even though he and Tyler don’t remember a thing about it, someone else had to have been there, witnessed it, performed the fucking ceremony.

They need to find those people, have them sign NDAs or something, especially if after this talk with Tyler they agree to get it annulled. They’ve gotten lucky so far with not having this marriage known to the public, but Jamie doubts the luck will last for long. Someone’s bound to find out or say something, even on accident, to the wrong person and then it’ll be a disaster.

Jamie thinks about calling some of the guys that were with them in Vegas, see if they remember anything or if they had even been with them. Though, if they hadn’t said anything to either of them by now, they likely don’t remember either or weren’t present for the nuptials. Besides, he’s not sure how Tyler will feel about the idea of calling the guys since he was so hesitant to even call a lawyer. 

Jamie will have to convince him it’s their best way forward. If they can figure out what happened that night, how they ended up in this mess and who might know, it’ll help them clean it up better before word gets out.

By the time he’s stuffed the things he wants to pack into a duffle, ring included, it’s late, and he can tell Jordie’s already gone to sleep, the rest of the house quiet and still. With a sigh, Jamie lays in bed and tries to fall asleep, to put his worries of the future, of his and Tyler’s future aside. He’s not very successful, but he does eventually fall asleep, and if he dreams of sleeping beside Tyler, no one will ever know. 

* * *

**Tyler**

“Get off your phone, and come help me with this tray!” Cassidy yells from inside the kitchen.

Tyler takes a second glance down at his phone, a text from Jamie with his flight info saying that he’ll be in the next day, and sighs before shoving it in his pocket. He pushes the screen door aside and walks back into the kitchen, fluidly taking the tray of meat and veggies from Cassie to take out to the grill he’d been heating. 

Candace and his mom are outside setting the table and messing with the dogs who are loving all the extra attention now that there’s more people besides Tyler. He goes about setting the tray next to the grill and pulling his tongs out to start setting the food on the heated rack. The meat--chicken--immediately starts to sizzle satisfyingly.

“Here,” Cassidy says, handing Tyler an opened bottle of beer. He tilts his head in thanks as he accepts it and takes a swig. Cassidy salutes with her own bottle and moves to sit in the chair near the grill. While he stands at the grill, having set all the food on and shut the lid, he pulls his phone out again; Jamie’s text is the first thing he sees when he unlocks it. 

He had planned to spend the rest of the weekend with the girls, but with Jamie’s flight coming in tomorrow, he’ll have to get him and take him to his apartment in the city. Besides, he kind of wants to spend time with just Jamie without his family around.

He knows they would be cool with leaving if he needed them to, but they were all excited to hang out at the lake house. Plus, he doesn’t really need to be here with them the whole time. They come and spend time at the lake house without him often.

“You’ve been looking at your phone a lot,” Cassidy says, interrupting his thoughts. He shrugs and tries to play it cool as he stuffs his phone back in his pocket and lifts the lid of the grill for something to do. “Someone important? Bad news?” Cassie pries.

“No, it’s nothing. No news,” Tyler mutters, hoping Cassie stops this line of questioning before Candace hears, or worse his mom.

“What news?” Candace asks, stepping up onto the deck, Gerry and Cash at her heels.

“Nothing. I said _no_ news. As in there’s nothing going on.”

At his adamance, Candace lifts an eyebrow and then turns to stare at Cassie, who smirks. “Tyler seems to be checking his phone an awful lot. I was asking what was so important. Or… _who_ was so important.”

Candace squints at Tyler as if she can read his mind. “Is this that girl from Dallas?”

Tyler rolls his eyes. “No.” That girl… had been a mistake. And he learned his lesson with that one, or at least he hopes he did. Luckily he hadn’t had anyone unexpectedly show up at his house demanding an autograph (or that he impregnate them) after she revealed his address to her thousand plus Instagram followers, but he wasn’t going to go through that again. He’d gotten the lecture from plenty of people: his bros, his agent, his manager, to be careful who he trusts with that info, or, as Brownie had put it, who he puts his dick in, and he’d broken up with her fairly soon after that.

He’d really only been with her to get his mind off of Jamie and Katie anyway. They’d gotten back together, and Tyler couldn’t stand it and needed his own distraction when Jamie didn’t have time for him anymore. He should’ve just suffered in silence instead of finding Kate, but... live and learn.

“Someone else then?” Candace presses, and god his sisters are so fucking annoying when they want to be.

“It’s just Jamie,” he blurts out, knowing they’ll keep hounding him until he relents.

“Oh, how is he doing?” his mom asks, and he has no idea where she’s been or how long she’s been listening to this interrogation. He turns back to the grill to flip everything over and checking the done-ness on the veggies before moving them onto a serving plate his mom sets down beside him.

“Uh, fine. He’s fine. He’s, uh… he’s actually coming up to Toronto.”

“Really? Oh that’s great! You going to see each other?” his mom asks, taking the now full tray of grilled vegetables to the table. 

“Yeah, we’re going to the Raptors game together with some other people? I actually… his flight gets in tomorrow and I was going to pick him up and let him and some of the other guys crash at my apartment after the game.”

“Ugh, you’re going to the game?!” Cassie whines.

“You don’t even like basketball,” Tyler remarks.

“So?” 

With an eye roll, Tyler continues, “Anyway, I can’t quite remember the state I left the apartment in, so I need to go over and make it presentable, make sure it’s stocked and stuff.”

His mom nods. “So you need us to stay here and take care of the boys?” she asks knowingly, gesturing to Marshall and Cash who are laying at her feet. 

He winces, ready to come out with an apology, but his mom waves him off. “We’ll be just fine, don’t you worry. Won’t we?” She bends down and pats Marshall’s head, who thumps his tail on the floor a few times in answer. 

“Thanks, Mom.” Tyler smiles.

The rest of the evening is relaxing, and after dinner they all sit on the deck, enjoying the cool breeze and sounds of nature surrounding them. The thought of doing this with Jamie brings a smile to his face, and even though their upcoming meeting and _the_ conversation they’ll have terrifies him, he ignores it to picture a quiet evening at home with those he loves: his dogs, his family, and Jamie.


	4. Chapter 4

**Jamie**

When Jamie walks out the exit doors of the terminal, seeing Tyler standing near baggage claim sheepishly grinning at him is not what he’s expecting to see. He figured he’d have to text Tyler that he was ready and then wait outside for him to pull up. But this is… nicer than that. He didn’t check a bag, just has one large duffle slung over his shoulder, so he walks past the people milling around the metal conveyor belts and approaches Tyler.

Tyler seems excited, but there’s a hesitancy behind his eyes, like he’s being cautious and unsure about how to approach Jamie now. It makes Jamie want to reassure him, but it also gives him pause. It makes him worried about how all of this might change their friendship. He had planned on acting as if everything was normal, like they didn’t have this document claiming they were married, but seeing Tyler visibly anxious makes him think it might.

There’s no going back from this, no way for them to be like how they were before. He was an idiot to think that it would, that their friendship would be the same as it was.

He swallows down the anxiety and worry that starts to encroach on him and wraps Tyler in a bear hug, hoping it relieves both of them and give them a sense of normalcy.

“It’s good to see you,” he says into Tyler’s neck, and he can feel Tyler’s tension leave as he relaxes more into the hug.

“You, too,” Tyler says, giving Jamie one last squeeze before pulling back and distancing himself a few steps. “Just that, yeah?” Tyler asks, pointing to Jamie’s bag. Jamie nods, and Tyler waves his hand for Jamie to follow and starts walking towards the exit. “Come on, I think I’m technically not supposed to park where I did, and I want to avoid a ticket…” 

Jamie chuckles and rolls his eyes and follows Tyler out of the airport and to his car. Maybe he was too hasty, maybe things between them won’t change too much.

* * *

**Tyler**

The ride to his apartment isn’t awkward. Mainly because Tyler chatters away to make sure it isn’t. He does his best to make it seem like everything is fine, like nothing between them has changed even though it’s the complete opposite. 

He doesn’t know why, but he talks about everything but what they’re supposed to talk about. He should just get it over with, but he thinks a part of him wants to pretend that Jamie is here because he wants to be, because he wants to see Tyler and not because he has to discuss what they’re going to do about their… problem before someone finds out and makes it worse.

He points out things to Jamie that make Toronto special to him even though Jamie’s been to the city thousands of times. But he hasn’t been to Tyler’s Toronto, hasn’t been made aware of where Tyler scored his first goal or his favorite cheat day restaurant. Jamie seems to take it in stride, nodding along to the stories Tyler tells him of his childhood, interjecting a few things here and there as he takes in the landmarks Tyler points out. 

When they do get to the apartment, it’s late enough and Jamie is tired enough from his flight that they order delivery. Tyler suggests a few places that he knows Jamie will like, and Jamie picks the first place he says.

“I’m gonna shower. You order whatever; I trust you,” Jamie says before disappearing into the bedroom with en-suite bathroom Tyler had shown him earlier to drop off his luggage.

“There should be towels and everything in the cupboard!” Tyler calls after him, Jamie holding up a hand in acknowledgement as he shuts the door.

Sighing, Tyler orders the food on his phone app, turns on the TV, and lounges on the couch as he tries not to think about Jamie in the shower the next room over.

He contemplates bringing up everything while they eat, but Jamie is tired and as much as he knows he should, he doesn’t want this discussion to ruin their plans. The game is tomorrow, and some of his friends have lunch plans he and Jamie are invited to before they go to the game.

What if they talk about everything tonight and it’s an utter disaster, with Jamie being disgusted at Tyler’s feelings for him, or not even wanting to be around him? No, he’d rather wait. It might be hanging over them the whole day, but he’d rather that then have the game and the fun part of Jamie’s trip be awful. 

Jamie must be of the same opinion because he doesn’t say a word about Vegas or the ring or the marriage license as they eat and watch whatever movie caught Tyler’s eye on Netflix. They both are aware of the elephant in the room, but both of them ignore it.

“You good with lunch tomorrow with some of my friends? They’re going to the game, too, and they invited us.”

“Yeah. Sounds good,” Jamie says around a yawn. He closes his now empty take-out container and sets it on the table in front of them. “I should get to bed before I fall asleep on your couch.”

“It’s a pretty comfy couch, you could do worse.” Tyler grins, to which Jamie rolls his eyes.

“I’m too old to be sleeping on couches,” Jamie remarks, groaning exaggeratedly as he stands.

Tyler shakes his head at the act, but he’s smiling. “Want to go for a run tomorrow morning?” Tyler blurts out. He doesn’t know why he asks, Jamie is more of a stick headphones in, keep to himself kind of dude, but Tyler also realizes that tomorrow morning is the last chance he’ll be alone with Jamie before they’re with friends or at the game and… before everything will change. 

Neither of them have broached the subject, and Tyler has no plans to do it tomorrow morning before the game, and he kind of suspects Jamie won’t either.

“Yeah. Just wake me up when you’re up,” Jamie says. Tyler nods, and Jamie pats him on the shoulder with a smile. He quietly picks up his empty containers and takes them into the kitchen to throw away. Tyler follows with his own, refusing to break the comfortable silence between them.

After cleaning up, they move down the hall together, and when Jamie gets to the guest bedroom door, he turns slightly and says, “Thanks for… picking me up and letting me stay here.”

“Of course,” Tyler says with a shrug, then adds, “I’m glad you’re here.”

Jamie gives him a small smile as if in agreement, and says, “Good night.” 

“Good night,” Tyler echoes, then watches as Jamie opens the door and shuts it behind himself. Tyler stares at the closed door a few moments before moving back down the hallway to his room.

As he gets ready for bed, he tries to tell himself that he made the right decision by not bringing up THE THING today. Jamie hadn’t said a word about it either, so they must be on the same page, or at least be considering how the conversation might affect the rest of Jamie’s time here. He wants Jamie to have fun, to not regret coming to Toronto to see him. He knows the basketball game is not the only reason Jamie came, but it was part of it. How terrible would that be if it was soured?

They’ll have the conversation after the game. They’ll come back to his apartment, loose from the couple of beers they had at the game, and they’ll hash everything out. Decide how to move forward like two grown-ass adults who are best friends and will remain best friends even after one of them confesses he’s been in love with the other for years. It’ll be fine, and nothing will change between them. 

It’ll be great, even, and whatever happens, Jamie will still be his friend, and he will still be Tyler’s. And even if they move forward with getting it annulled, and after he tells Jamie about his feelings, he doesn’t think Jamie would ever be as cruel as Tyler had been worried about him being. He’s not that kind of guy, and if he doesn’t feel the same way, he’d just tell Tyler, but emphasize their friendship wouldn’t be affected. Tyler would agree and after hearing it done once and for all, he’d be able to move on and get over Jamie. 

He lays down in bed feeling much better after imagining this less dramatic scenario, and he falls asleep with the assurance that no matter what happens with this whole marriage and love business, he and Jamie and their relationship would be just fine.


	5. Chapter 5

**Jamie**

Jamie is the first one up even though he had told Tyler to wake him the night before. For some reason this doesn’t surprise him since Tyler does like to sleep in, but when he’d made the comment the night before he figured he’d be too tired and jetlagged from the flight to wake up early. Guess he’d been wrong.

He looks down at the shut door of Tyler’s room and wonders if he should knock and wake him up or wait for him to get up on his own. Indecision causes him to freeze in the hallway. Tyler had seemed like he’d wanted to spend time with him, but maybe the running was a ploy. Maybe Tyler’s planning on bringing up the marriage license this morning and talking about what they’re going to do about everything. His stomach churns at the thought of having the conversation.

He’d purposefully avoided mentioning anything about the ring, or Vegas, or the license all day yesterday, and Tyler had been just as avoidant. Jamie wasn’t sure what Tyler was waiting on, but Jamie was too afraid to bring it up. He also didn’t want to have to think about how his relationship with Tyler would have to change after all this happened. 

They’d inevitably have to tell someone on the Stars staff, especially if they got lawyers involved or law enforcement if the blackmail part is true and it somehow got leaked. They’d need to be warned. And he could only imagine what kind of stipulations they might put on them because of it. He didn’t think it would be anything damaging enough to affect their game play, but he could see the staff being extra cautious and having them avoid being seen together outside of hockey too often.

Although maybe he’s being paranoid about all this. He should really talk to Tyler to get it out of the way, but what if they talk and it’s a disaster and completely awkward between them? They’re going to sit next to each other for three plus hours at lunch and a basketball game and what, give each other the silent treatment? Pretend like everything is fine? Have everything remain tense and awkward?

No, that’s the last thing Jamie wants. He wants to have fun. He wants to be introduced to Tyler’s friends and hang out with some of the guys and enjoy the game with Tyler and cheer for Toronto. It might mean that this conversation will be hanging over them the whole day, both of them knowing that they’ll have to have it, but not today. Not when they have things to do, people to see, and fun to have. 

They can put it off for one more day, and then Jamie can leave and go home and figure out what the fuck to do about his life and friendship and hockey in the aftermath.

With that thought, he turns away from Tyler’s door and goes to the kitchen, rummaging through the cupboards for a mug and the Keurig cups he knows Tyler (well more like Tyler’s mom) has stashed away. Unsure of when Tyler will actually wake up and trying to prolong the time he has to himself and shorten the time Tyler has to bring up the conversation (if that was what he was planning on doing), he tries to be as quiet as he can and make his own cup of coffee. He even contemplates going for a run or seeing if he can get into the apartment gym without Tyler by himself, but he knows Tyler well enough to know Tyler would be upset with him if he did.

So instead he drinks his coffee, phone in hand as he scrolls through his various social media feeds and seeing the latest news of the day. He’s too absorbed in his phone to notice Tyler quietly padding down the hall to him until he’s already in the kitchen scooting past him to reach for the cupboard with mugs.

When he finally looks up and sees Tyler, his breath catches in his throat. Tyler is only in his boxer briefs and nothing else, which isn’t anything Jamie hasn’t seen before, but it’s still quite a sight. His hair is a curly mess, a few strands sticking straight out in the back and his left cheek is reddened with a slight crease on it, an indention from his pillow or sheets most likely. Tyler has clearly literally just rolled out of bed and looks anything but put together, and Jamie finds it so incredibly sexy. 

Which is not good.

This Tyler is soft and vulnerable, still sleepy, bleary-eyed, and half-coherent as he’s bumbling around his kitchen to get things for his coffee. He can’t seem to remember where things are, and he’s opening up random cupboards, like Jamie had. It’s cute and adorable and so endearing, and Jamie is angry with himself for even thinking it, for the thought that crosses his mind that this is his favorite version of Tyler and that he wants to see it all the time. 

Jamie finally takes pity on him and grabs the cup from Tyler’s hands, opening the cupboard with the K-cups and taking one out and starting it for Tyler.

“Thanks,” Tyler mumbles, leaning in closer to Jamie when he turns back to face Tyler. For a split second Jamie thinks he might lean further and just bury his head in his chest in a hug and fall back asleep, but Tyler pats him on the chest and grins up at him, then turns and walks to the fridge to pull out creamer.

And for another split second, Jamie is sad that the embrace didn’t happen.

The coffee finishes dripping into the cup, and Jamie carefully hands the cup to Tyler who’s now taken to leaning on the counter opposite Jamie, creamer sitting on the counter beside him. 

Tyler nods his head in gratitude as he takes the cup, grabbing the creamer and pouring what Jamie thinks is way too much into his cup. He doesn’t even bother to stir it in and just takes a sip, sighing in satisfaction afterwards.

Jamie bites back a smile as he watches, realizing too late he probably shouldn’t stare at Tyler as he drinks his coffee. Tyler doesn’t seem to notice, too absorbed in his drink and in trying to wake up, so Jamie continues watching. It’s rare he sees Tyler this way so early in the morning these days, and he might not get the chance to see this version of Tyler after this trip ever again, so he’ll enjoy it while he can.

“Still up for a run?” Jamie asks when Tyler appears more awake and his coffee is near gone.

“Yeah. Let me throw on some clothes and we can go. Around the neighborhood okay or do you want the treadmill?”

Jamie looks out the window as if that’ll help him decide which. It’s late, close to nine, and the weather looks nice despite the sun slowly getting higher. “Outside’s fine. It’d be good to get some fresh air.”

Tyler gives him a thumbs up since he’s too busy draining the last of his coffee to say anything. Once he’s through, he puts his cup in the sink and clears his throat. “‘Kay. Be back in a minute.” He leaves and looks like he’s practically running to his room to change.

Shrugging, Jamie rinses his cup out and then Tyler’s and puts it in the dishwasher where there appears to be a few other dirty cups and plates waiting to be washed. He’s not sure how often Tyler is at his apartment or how long these dirty dishes have been sitting in the dishwasher already, so he decides to run it to be nice. 

Tyler returns just as quickly as he left, and asks, “Ready?” in an almost breathless voice.

“Yeah. Let me get my shoes,” Jamie adds, feeling like he should rush too with as eager as Tyler’s being. With shoes on, and his phone in his shorts pocket, Jamie meets Tyler at the front door and follows him out of the apartment.

The run is good, though long and mostly quiet. Neither of them had brought headphones on their run, though Jamie had contemplated it, but they are both running too hard to keep up a steady conversation anyway. Tyler takes the lead, guiding them around the neighborhood and down streets that take them to more scenic trails that run by trees and small parks.

They get back to the apartment, breathing heavy, sweat beading down their temples and soaking their shirts. Wordlessly they part to their respective rooms with a smile to shower and change. By the time Jamie is done and reemerging from the guest room, Tyler is already out, and someone else is in the apartment--one of his friends that looks vaguely familiar to Jamie though he can’t recall his name.

Jamie is secretly glad Tyler’s friend is here because he suspects from now until the end of the day Tyler and Jamie will not be alone, so they won’t be able to talk. But, he feels a pang of longing for that same fact. The morning had been quiet and comfortable between them, and Jamie suspects it won’t be that way for them again and wishes he had a little more time.

But alas, that’s not the case, so he puts on a friendly smile while Tyler makes introductions and readies himself for a day filled of them and for Tyler’s attention to no longer be spent solely on him.

* * *

**Tyler**

Toronto won.

Tyler almost can’t believe it. As much as hockey is his love, he also enjoys basketball, and of course he’s going to support his hometown in whatever sport there is.

And the Raptors won. The Toronto Raptors won the NBA championship, something they’ve never done before ever.

The streets are insane, and outside the arena as he and Jamie and all their friends finally push past through the doors, there’s confetti and fog and screams and cheering. It’s a cacophony of joy, and Tyler can’t help but add to the noise. His hometown team won!

He looks over at Jamie who’s kept pretty close to his side, and he knows there’s no way Jamie can’t see the excitement and happiness he’s exuding. Sure enough, Jamie’s smiling at him as if the joy is contagious. Jamie might not be from Toronto but he’s Canadian and this win is just as much the country of Canada’s as it is the city of Toronto’s.

The game itself had been just as fun, especially in those last few minutes as the hope of victory became more of a reality. Some of his friends had scored tickets right behind he and Jamie, so they had spent breaks shooting the breeze with them and going to get more and more beers.

Jamie had been warm along his side the whole night, and he seemed to be enjoying himself as much as Tyler had.

Those same friends they were sitting with jostle into them as they make their way out of the arena and into the mass of fans.

“Hey, they’re doing free shots for anyone that shows their tickets to the game at the bar down the street. You coming?” a friend of his friends asks, and he feels bad he can’t quite remember their name. 

He knows he probably shouldn’t, but he finds it hard to pass up free shots even though he has more than enough money to buy his own. Something about the fact that it’s free makes it taste that much better. He glances at Jamie in question, and when he gets a shrug in response, Jamie clearly leaving it up to Tyler to decide, he nods.

“Yeah. We’re there. Lead the way,” he says. He starts following the guys as they squeeze pass people to get to the bar, and he looks back at Jamie to both see if he’s following and if he’s okay with going. Jamie is behind him, close enough that Tyler could grab his hand and pull him along, but he doesn’t. The face Jamie wears is fond and exasperated all at once, but there’s a small smile lurking there when their eyes catch.

“Come on, old man,” Tyler says, grabbing Jamie’s arm, not his hand, and hurries him enough so he’s beside him instead of behind. 

It takes a while to get the free shots, word travels fast, but the free shots lead to discount beers across the street, and buy one get one cocktails two blocks over, and then an after party with some of the players because someone knows someone. 

In the end, when he and Jamie finally stumble their way back to his apartment, he knows without a doubt he’s had way too much to drink, and he’s positive Jamie is in the same boat given how much he’s leaning into Tyler as they walk. Their friends had left them behind at some point in the night, having their fill of booze, excitement, and limelight to last them. Jamie had wanted to congratulate Kawhi Leonard who had just showed up at whoever’s place they were at, so Tyler had waited with him to do the same.

He’s surprised his friends had left, but now that he thinks of it, they might have left before Kawhi had showed up. He can’t really remember at this point, and he’s lucky he even remembers how to get back to his apartment from where they were. The streets were too crowded, and they both figured it’d be faster to walk than get an Uber.

“That was fun,” Jamie says a little too loudly as they walk down the street. Tyler’s pretty sure they only have… yes, that’s his building right there. 

“Yeah, it was,” he emphasizes, gently maneuvering Jamie so they’re walking towards the door. 

“Thanks,” Jamie mumbles, and Tyler looks at him confused as they move to stand in front of the elevator and wait for it to open for them.

“For what?”

“For inviting me. Letting me stay with you, convincing me to come to the game, hang out with you and your friends,” Jamie says waving his hands and almost smacking Tyler in the face.

“Of course,” Tyler says. The elevator dings and the doors slide open, and Tyler breathes a sigh of relief when they do. He and Jamie squeeze in and lean against the walls, facing each other. 

“Tyler, I…” Jamie starts, and when Tyler looks at him, Jamie’s face is far too serious for the amount of alcohol they’ve imbibed.

It makes Tylers heart get stuck in his throat because now is definitely not the time to discuss anything serious between them. Whatever would result would be an utter disaster, and as much as he and Jamie have avoided this the whole time Jamie’s been here, they’ll have to avoid it for one more evening.

“Don’t,” Tyler says, holding his hand up, stopping whatever Jamie might have been trying to say.

Jamie gives him a face that’s both confused and hurt, but luckily the elevator doors open on Tyler’s floor, so he can look away and pretend he didn’t put that face on Jamie. He doesn’t pull Jamie with him through the doors, but he doesn’t have to, Jamie follows behind him on his own all the way to his door. 

He fishes his keys from his pocket and fumbles slightly but gets the key in on the second try. Jamie leans on the doorway beside him, watching with slightly glazed eyes. When Tyler gets the door open, Jamie is right there suddenly, his breath warm on the back of Tyler’s neck as he follows him inside.

It’s almost like Jamie doesn’t want to be too far away from him, like there’s a string attached to them both that only has so much slack before it snaps, something they both want to avoid.

“Water?” Tyler asks, and Jamie is for sure way too close because when Jamie gives an affirmative answer, Tyler can feel the rumble of Jamie’s voice in his ribs.

He should say something, should elbow Jamie in the stomach so he’ll stop leaning over him and pressing himself against his back, should push him away so they can get some distance between them.

But he’s either too drunk or too weak to do any of that, so he doesn’t. He likes it too much, likes feeling Jamie’s heat all along his back, likes being this close to Jamie and Jamie not shying away from it. It’s wrong and will likely complicate matters in the future, but at this point in time, he doesn’t care.

He reaches for the fridge and pulls out a couple water bottles, and the whole time Jamie’s body moves with him. He only backs away slightly when he takes the water from Tyler and takes a sip. He still keeps a hand on Tyler’s waist though, like he can’t bear to not be touching Tyler. It’s messing with Tyler’s drunken mind, having Jamie’s hand on him and longing for Jamie to touch him everywhere else. He needs to go to bed.

“Sleep,” he says after a few more sips of his own water. Jamie nods in agreement and sets his half empty water bottle down on the counter, nudging Tyler slightly as if to tell him to lead the way. 

And he does. He throws his empty bottle away and makes his way down the hallway, Jamie resuming his position plastered to his back. Only this time he’s nosing behind his ear, his breath tickling the back of Tyler’s neck. It causes Tyler to miss a step, and he and Jamie almost trip over each other and fall. Jamie though, catches them, his arm wrapped around Tyler’s waist, his other hand pressed into the wall. Tyler doesn’t say anything, just keeps walking until they’re stopped in front of the guest room, Jamie’s room.

The door is ajar, and when he peers inside, Jamie’s bag and clothes are strewn across the bed. Jamie sees it too and whines. 

“Too tired,” Jamie mumbles into his neck. Sighing, Tyler knows what Jamie is getting at, what he’s really saying. They shouldn’t. Not again.

And yet…


	6. Chapter 6

**Tyler**

The morning sun streams through the blinds, and slowly Tyler opens his eyes. His head hurts, but not nearly as bad as he’s experienced in the past. It takes a moment to realize how hot he is, like he has a heater all along his back and a weight on his waist.

He turns slightly and the moment he sees a messy mop of brown hair and the tattooed arm slung over his waist, the past night comes flooding back to him and the fact that Jamie is in his bed curled around him.

It’s like Vegas all over again. Only this time, he wasn’t drunk enough to forget the night of revelry. No he remembers all of it, how Jamie had clung to him as they walked back to the apartment and as they finally went to bed. He remembers how Jamie didn’t want to let go of him, had rather slept with him in his bed than push his luggage and clothes to the floor to crash on the guest bed.

And just like Vegas, Tyler hates how comfortable he feels with Jamie wrapped around him, his warmth in his bed. He longs to wake up to Jamie and hates how much he wants that all the time, for it to be so common occurrence that it’s habit, it’s just part of the routine like brushing his teeth.

Speaking of… it tastes like something died in his mouth. He should get out of bed and take care of it. Logically he knows he can’t wake up beside Jamie, especially not this morning, not given what happened before and what they still need to talk about. Somehow he doesn’t think Jamie will wake up wrapped around Tyler and think the happy, longing thoughts Tyler did.

He tries to think through how he can weasel his way out of Jamie’s grasp without waking him and pretend he sacked out on the couch. He’ll leave Jamie alone in bed, and maybe Jamie won’t remember how he ended up there instead of in the guest bed. 

Only he takes too long, and Jamie is starting to rouse from sleep. Tyler freezes when Jamie wakes and squeezes his eyes shut and waits for Jamie to realize what position they’re in and who he’s in bed with.

It’s only a moment, and he hears Jamie groan in frustration behind him. The warmth along his back disappears, and with it all of Tyler’s hope that he’ll ever get what he longs for.

* * *

**Jamie**

Once Jamie realizes who he’s in bed with and waking up beside, he groans and sits up as fast he can, scooting away from Tyler so he’s not pressed up against him.

This cannot be happening again. He had too much to drink last night, though not enough to forget how he had gotten too comfortable wrapped around Tyler. He remembers wanting to keep touching him, to stay in his bubble. He mentally hits himself for not keeping himself in check, for wanting Tyler so much that he followed him into his bed instead of going to the guest bedroom like he should have. 

Another frustrated groan escapes his lips as he runs his hands over his face, trying to wake up more and will his hangover headache away.

“Morning to you, too,” Tyler grumbles, and Jamie can tell instantly that Tyler is pissed off.

He sighs. Looks like there’s no time but the present. “Tyler, this can’t keep happening.” 

“Keep happening?” Tyler’s voice is raised, and he throws the blankets off of himself, almost hitting Jamie in the face with them, which was probably on purpose. “You make it sound like we wake up next to each other all the time!”

“You know what I mean, Ty. We’ve repeated our problem. We’ve already gotten into a mess in Vegas.”

“Oh, what, you think we adopted a kid last night while we were drunk now?” Tyler shouts as he angrily yanks out a drawer to grab the first t-shirt he finds to put on.

“God, I hope not,” Jamie says, hoping Tyler picks up on the teasing tone in his voice. He did not want to have this conversation while yelling at each other, and he needs to calm things down so they can have something to maintain after this is all said and done.

When Tyler turns around to face him, it is clear he didn’t take it as a joke. He looks as if Jamie told him that he wasn’t allowed to see his puppies ever again. “I need coffee,” Tyler mutters, then promptly turns and leaves the room.

“Well this is going well so far,” Jamie mumbles to himself. He takes his time dragging himself out of Tyler’s bed and padding down the hall to the guest room where all his things are. He doesn’t hear slamming cupboard doors, which is promising, and he hopes that by the time he’s dressed and in the kitchen that Tyler’s anger has dissipated a little.

He uses the restroom, throws on a t-shirt and basketball shorts, then makes his way to the kitchen. Tyler’s faced away from him, and there’s two steaming mugs on the counter beside him. Guess he can’t be too mad at him if he made a cup of coffee for Jamie. When Jamie steps closer, he notices Tyler fiddling with a butter knife and tapping his fingers on the counter. There’s a ching sound from the toaster, and Tyler jumps slightly at the noise, as if he’d been lost in his own thoughts and had forgotten he was standing there waiting for toast.

Jamie would laugh at it, at how cute it was, but it’s a wildly inappropriate time to both think that and to laugh at Tyler. Instead he clears his throat to announce his presence, and he watches Tyler’s shoulders tense and rise up. Maybe he hasn’t cooled off as much as Jamie had hoped. 

“Uh, this mine?” Jamie asks, pointing to the mug that’s full even though the answer is obvious. Tyler doesn’t give an audible answer, only nods and shrugs at the same time and turns away from Jamie to butter his toast. “Thanks,” Jamie says, to which Tyler shrugs again.

Jamie bites back a sigh and sips his coffee, unsure how to proceed. They need to talk, clearly, but he’s afraid that having the conversation with Tyler’s mood as sour as it is will be unproductive. He will admit he didn’t start things off well this morning and will take that blame, but Tyler should understand why Jamie said what he did, how Jamie was more mad at himself than anything.

“You’re welcome to whatever food you find,” Tyler says around a bite of toast. “There’s cereal, and I think some oatmeal, too.” Tyler swallows and then makes like he’s going to go through the pantry to check.

“I’m fine,” Jamie replies. He doesn’t think he could eat right now despite knowing he should. It’d likely help with the headache he’s sporting, but the anxiety-caused roiling in his stomach won’t let him.

Tyler lifts a shoulder and takes his plate with a lone piece of toast on it over to the table. “Suit yourself.” He sits down and slowly takes another bite.

Jamie stares at him for a moment because seriously? What the hell is he playing at? Is he just going to keep pretending nothing happened, that they don’t have a huge fucking problem they need to fix? How dare he sit there and eat fucking toast like everything is normal?!

He can’t keep the bubbling anger inside him from spilling out, and he blurts out, “God, Tyler, stop acting like a fucking child.”

Tyler’s head snaps up, and he stares at Jamie like he’s slapped him. That look is quickly replaced with simmering rage. “Excuse me?” 

“Don’t play dumb. You’re avoiding the issue. Have been the entire time I’ve been here.”

“Oh and like you’ve been so forthcoming about talking about it, too? You’ve been avoiding it just as much as I have!”

Jamie doesn’t respond because Tyler’s right. He hasn’t said anything either. “Fine. We’re here now, alone, talking. So let’s fucking talk about it already? I’m ready to go home.”

The flash of hurt that crosses Tyler’s face is noticeable enough that Jamie catches it before Tyler can hide it. He thinks maybe he meant the comment to hurt, but he immediately feels guilty about it. 

Not guilty enough to assuage his anger though. “Why did you even have me come here, Tyler? Why haven’t we just called a lawyer and got an annulment? Is there a reason you’re putting it off? Are you being blackmailed or something?”

Tyler looks a little taken aback by the question. “Blackmail? No. As far as I know no one knows about what happened, at least no one’s contacted me saying they have.”

Jamie lets a sigh of relief. That’s good. Of course it shoots all his theories about why Tyler was prolonging this out of the water, but at least there’s not some huge threat hanging over them. Other than the threat that someone might come out of the woodwork later… 

“If it’s not blackmail, then what the hell are we even doing? Why did I have to fly all the way to fucking Toronto to talk to you about this?” Jamie’s voice is rising. He should keep it down since they are in an apartment, but he just can’t fathom why Tyler is dragging this out.

“Don’t you want to get this taken care of like I do?” Jamie continues. “Do you really want someone to find out about this mess before the story gets leaked and things get worse?” 

Tyler stares at his plate, and his downcast eyes and silence only serve to fuel the fire. 

“I want to put this disaster behind us and move on. Don’t you?” Jamie asks, willing Tyler to look at him to no luck.

More silence. 

"Well!?” Jamie demands, slamming his hand on the table. “Answer me, goddamnit!" 

Tyler flings his plate across the table, sending it crashing and breaking to the floor, and jumps out of his seat, his chair falling over behind him. His face is red with anger, but what Jamie notices more is the wetness of his eyes, tears falling from them to his cheeks now that he’s finally looking at him. Tyler isn’t one to cry when he’s angry; he gets angrier and louder, not tearful. But why would he be...

“I don’t want to fucking move on, okay?!” Tyler shouts at him. “You want to know why I had you fly out here? Why I wanted to talk to you in person first before we called a lawyer?” Jamie nods his head, but Tyler acts as if he was going to continue whether or not Jamie gave him any kind of answer.

“Because--” Tyler yells and then stops like he’s choking back more tears. “Because I’m fucking in love with you, asshole.” Tyler continues as if now that he’s admitted it, he can’t stop himself, “I don’t want to get it annulled because I like the idea of us being married. I loved waking up next to you that morning in Vegas, and I fucking loved it when it happened again this morning, too. I _want_ to wake up next to you every day and to go to sleep next to you every night, and to groggily make you coffee and breakfast in the mornings, and share rides to the rink because we’re fucking married not because we live near each other and it’s better for the environment or some shit.”

“That’s why,” he adds quietly after he’s taking a few calming breaths to get his heaving chest to stop. “That’s why I didn’t want to call a lawyer.” He looks down at the tipped over chair and slowly rights it and moves to pick up the broken shards of ceramic from his plate. 

Jamie watches Tyler as he picks up the pieces, stunned into silence at Tyler’s confession. He doesn’t know what to say or how to respond. He had no idea Tyler ever felt that way about him, though… Now that he’s said it, it makes Jamie reframe all of their interactions in a new light, and maybe… maybe he should’ve known or realized it sooner.

“How… how long?” Jamie chokes out, staring back at Tyler as he opens the pantry door for a broom and dust pan.

He stares as Tyler comes back to the table, setting the dust pan on one of the kitchen chairs. Tyler shrugs and starts to sweep up the bread crumbs and shards of ceramic. He doesn’t look at Jamie as he says, “I’ve been attracted to you since we met.” He reaches for the pan and squats to push the pile of debris into it. When he stands back up, he looks at Jamie and opens his mouth and shuts it again, shaking his head. He walks to the trash can and empties the pan into it.

Jamie starts to say something, though what, he’s not sure, ask another question, ask why he didn’t say anything, when Tyler turns back around. “I didn’t start to develop real feelings for you until I’d been in Dallas for a year or so. But… I figured it’d never be returned, so I hid them and didn’t say anything.” He takes a breath and laughs bitterly, opening the pantry door to put the broom and pan away. “Then you got with Katie and I tried to move on, but… I couldn’t.”

He says the last line to the door of the pantry, and his shoulders are slouched, like he’s defeated. Seeing Tyler like that makes Jamie want to go to him, to comfort him and encourage him, he stands from his seat and takes a few steps towards him before he stops himself. He can’t do that. Not right now. 

Instead, Jamie repeats what Tyler’s said in his head about how he tried to move on when Jamie was with Katie, Jamie remembers how hard Tyler tried to be nice to Katie at the beginning. How he tried to smile and be supportive of Jamie’s relationship and tease him about it, but how eventually it went to Tyler avoiding both of them or even the topic of them and becoming more distant with Jamie especially, though he hadn’t noticed it at the time. He thought he had been the one to distance them, being more and more wrapped up in Katie and having less time to spend with Tyler.

Then, when he had initially broken up with Katie last summer, Tyler had been there to pick up the pieces, had let Jamie whine to him about trying to win Katie back despite Tyler’s admonishments about it, that it wasn’t a good idea.

Of course, Jamie had ignored him, but he probably should’ve listened. But… maybe it was just a ploy for Tyler. Maybe it had been self-serving, and Tyler had warned him against crawling back to Katie because he had wanted Jamie to himself.

“So, all last summer when you told me not to text Katie or stay off social media to get her back… were you just doing that so you could have me? So I wouldn’t go back to her so I would be available for you?”

At the words, Tyler spins to face Jamie, and he moves forward with a fist raised like he’s going to punch Jamie in the face. Luckily he doesn’t, but the rage on his face is evident on his face.

“Fuck you,” Tyler spits out. “I was trying to _save_ you from yourself. I was _trying_ to be a good friend. Yeah, I was in love with you, but it wasn’t like that, and how _dare you_ for thinking it was.” He steps up to Jamie and pokes him in the chest, hard, and it makes Jamie wince slightly, but it’s his fault for thinking so terribly of Tyler. 

“What,” Tyler adds, “You think I was _that_ hung up on you that I wanted you that bad that I wanted to sabotage you? Get over yourself, Benn.” He takes a breath. “If you’ll fucking recall, when you did get back with Katie, I was supportive. I hoped it would work out as long as you were happy. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.” His voice goes quiet, and he takes a step back, his eyes growing shiny again. “I’ve only ever wanted you to be happy.”

‘You to be happy.’ 

Happy.

Jamie thinks about it, plays the words in his mind and tries to think about if he’s happy (not right now), and when he’s been happy. When has he been the happiest?

And that’s when it hits him, when he realizes, that all the times that he’s been happy, the moments of happiness that come to mind first, are moments he’s with Tyler.

The realization almost knocks him on his ass: Tyler is the one that makes him happy.

He’s thought of that morning when they were in Vegas together in bed so many times this summer, and every time it’s made him happier. Even after the mess that came from it, when he pictures what it felt like to hold Tyler, to wrap his arm around him and nuzzle his neck, he smiles.

He thinks of their ritual handshake before every game, how it’s more than just a superstition that they do now, that it actually brings a grin to his face and energizes him before they go out on the ice. He remembers lounging on Tyler’s couch with his dogs either on top of him or at his feet and feeling so comfortable and at home.

Every time Tyler smiles, his wide toothy grin, where he scrunches up his nose, every time he laughs over something stupid, every time he gushes about something Gerry did and how it was so adorable, every time Tyler pats his back after a loss and tells him they’ll win the next game, _every time_ it makes Jamie smile, makes him happy, or comforts him.

If he’s being truthful with himself, he’s known this. That Tyler makes him happy, that he wants to be with Tyler. Hell, he’s almost positive it’s part of the reason Katie called everything off and why Jamie had been secretly relieved. (Though it’d still hurt to have her end it, like he’d failed.)

He’d been with Katie because it was normal, routine; he’d been used to it. It was something he could rely on, though Katie hadn’t been the _person_ he could rely on. No, that’d always been Tyler.

And if it’s Tyler he’s relied on, if it’s Tyler that makes him happy, if it’s Tyler that is his constant and normal... that’s… love isn’t it? 

Maybe he’d called it different things in his head out of denial--they were best friends, linemates, teammates, he was Tyler’s captain and Tyler was his alternate. But deep down, the underlying thread was love. He loves Tyler? 

God, he loves Tyler. 

The words “I love you” escape his mouth without him consciously realizing he’s said them out loud. 

Tyler’s eyes snap to his, widen. “What?” Tyler asks, breathless.

“I… Tyler, I think… I love you.”

“Are you fucking with me?” Tyler looks like he’s starting to get angry again, and Jamie quickly shakes his head to reassure him. This conversation has been enough of an emotional roller coaster; it needs to level out now.

“I’m not.” He takes a step to Tyler, and he can see Tyler tense like he’s wondering if he should step back and keep some distance between them, but he doesn’t. 

“I might not have been in love with you as long as you have been with me, but I love you. I called it other things and denied it in my head, wouldn’t let myself call it what it was. I think I was afraid it would ruin our friendship, our dynamic on the ice, that it would fuck up the team, but… Tyler, I love you.”

* * *

**Tyler**

Jamie loves him.

Jamie _loves_ him. 

Tyler stands there, staring at Jamie but not really seeing him, as he processes the words. Jamie Benn, captain of the Dallas Stars, his best friend, linemate, and the guy he’s been in love with for years, loves him back?

He almost can’t believe it, but Jamie’s said it more than once now, and Jamie isn’t one to lie or tease him about something so important, so raw and possibly damning.

“Ty?” Jamie whispers, his hand brushing Tyler’s elbow. 

“You love me?” Because he needs to hear it again. He needs to watch Jamie’s eyes, his lips, when he says it, so that he can confirm that it’s real, that he didn’t imagine Jamie saying it.

Smiling like he knows what Tyler’s thinking, Jamie nods and locks eyes with Tyler. The hand that was on Tyler’s elbow moves down his arm, and he links his fingers with Tyler’s. “I do. I love you.”

A laugh bubbles out of Tyler, and it should be embarrassing but at this point he doesn’t care.

“Wow,” Tyler says, grinning. “I… I don’t think this is how I imagined it would be like when you said that.”

Jamie winces, and Tyler squeezes his hand. “I’m sorry,” Jamie says. “I’m an idiot.”

With a smirk, Tyler pulls on Jamie’s hand so they are even closer. “Yeah. You are,” and his lips curl up when Jamie frowns at the comment. “But I kind of am, too.”

Jamie rolls his eyes, fondness evident. He lets go of Tyler’s hand, and before Tyler can protest, he pulls Tyler into his arms and hugs him.

He’s hugged Jamie thousands of times, but this feels different somehow. And it’s nice. He buries his face in the crook of Jamie’s neck and just breathes.

They stand there for a few moments, holding each other, breathing out twin sighs of relief and contentment. Their cups of coffee have long gone cold and it’s pushing lunch time, but neither seems to care or mind.

Jamie is the one that breaks their hold, lets go of Tyler and leans back enough to look at him. When Tyler looks up at him, Jamie’s face doesn’t match his own. With his brow furrowed, eyes a mix of concern and serious, it’s what he looks like when they’re down by one going into the last five minutes of the third period. It’s a face that worries Tyler, especially in this context.

“Ty, we still… we still have to take care of this. We have to get the marriage annulled.”

Tyler’s stomach drops, and his face falls. He thought… well he was stupid to think Jamie’s confession of love meant he wanted to be with him.

“Hey, I just…” Jamie says quickly, pulling Tyler in when he starts to push himself away from Jamie and this situation.

“Listen,” Jamie says, forcing Tyler’s face up with a hand on his chin. “We can’t have it getting out,” and then quickly adds, “but that doesn’t mean we can’t be together.”

“What do you mean?” Tyler says, trying his best to get a reign on his emotions.

“I’m willing to try with you, date, be together, you know, if… if you are?” Jamie shrugs, “Maybe it’ll result in marriage… a real one later, but surely we can date for now, eh?”

Logically, Tyler can see what Jamie is saying. It would be better for them both to take care of this now while it’s still contained. It’s true, they don’t have to have a piece of paper that neither of them remember getting to say they can be together. Besides, if they do decide to date, which Jamie seems to be wanting and Tyler is all for, they should keep it quiet and between them for a while.

Even if no one knows about this marriage certificate now, it doesn’t mean they won’t ever find it, and pretending it doesn’t exist now won’t help them when that happens. Jamie’s right… it’s probably why he’s the captain.

“Okay,” Tyler finally answers. He gives Jamie a shy smile, and Jamie mirrors it. “I’ll call my guy. He can take care of it.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. You shower, and I’ll call him.” 

Jamie doesn’t move, hesitating, so Tyler shoves him. “Go. I got it.” Finally Jamie relents and leaves. Tyler sighs and goes back to the bedroom to retrieve his phone.

In the end, it’s a quick conversation to explain the situation to his lawyer. By the time that Jamie emerges from the guest room, hair still damp and dripping onto his T-shirt, Tyler’s putting the finishing touches on a pair of turkey sandwiches.

“So?” Jamie asks, leaning on the other side of the kitchen island opposite from Tyler.

“He said he’d take care of everything and email me the paperwork to sign.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“Wow. I thought there would be more… work?”

Tyler shrugs and hands Jamie one of the sandwiches. He accepts and mutters his thanks, and they both take a few bites in comfortable silence.

Jamie swallows and asks, “Should, uh… should we try to investigate who all might know?”

“I asked, and he said other than letting the Stars front people know, they can take care of anything that might crop up. I figured I’d let you handle that part,” Tyler says with a grin.

“Yeah. Okay.” He pulls out his phone from his pocket. Tyler stuffs the last bites of his sandwich in his mouth.

“I’m going to shower,” he says after he swallows, “while you…” He waves a hand at Jamie and his phone, and Jamie nods in understanding as he dials and puts the phone up to his ear.

His shower is quick and perfunctory, mainly because he’s too excited to spend more time with Jamie and have it be different than all the other times he’s hung out with him. At least… he thinks it’ll be different. They’ve both told each other they love each other; Jamie had said he wanted to try to be with him. So… they were together now. Weren’t they?

While he’s toweling off and getting dressed, Tyler tries to think over their conversation. He had said okay, but Jamie might have taken that to mean okay to get it annulled and not okay to them dating. He needs to ask. He’s tired of this ambiguity between them.

He comes out of the bedroom, and Jamie is sitting on the couch saying goodbye into his phone and ending the call. He watches as Jamie sighs and leans his head on the back of the couch. 

“Went that well, huh?” Tyler asks, sitting sideways in the space beside Jamie so he can face him.

“Not exactly, but it’s done. They’ll keep an eye out, but they haven’t heard anything, so they don’t seem too worried. It’s been long enough that if it were to come out it would’ve already, and since it hasn’t they’re guessing anyone that was involved or saw it won’t say anything or never realized we were professional athletes.”

Tyler bobs his head as Jamie talks. “That’s good.”

“Yeah.” 

They both sit staring at each other for a moment, and Tyler plays with the hem of his shorts, trying to formulate how to ask his question.

“So,” he starts, “um, now that it’s kind of out of our hands and being handled… what does that-- You had said you wanted to date, and, I mean was that--” Tyler cuts himself off and lets out a frustrated growl, burying his head in his hands. He blows out a breath and starts again, “Are we… does that mean we’re dating?” 

He looks up at Jamie who is much closer than he remembers him being. His lips are curled up slightly, and he’s leaning in. “I thought I had made that pretty clear earlier,” Jamie says.

“Make it clearer,” Tyler says, his heartbeat speeding up as Jamie gets closer. Jamie gives one nod before the space between them disappears and Jamie presses his lips to Tyler’s. 

Immediately Tyler kisses back, feeling Jamie’s smile against his own. His lips are warm and wet, and though he’s imagined kissing Jamie so many times, this is both exactly as he imagined and nothing like he imagined it. Jamie’s kisses are insistent and firm, like he’s trying to emphasize to Tyler how much he wants this, wants to “make it clearer” that they are together now.

Tyler had always thought he’d have to be the one to take charge, that he’d be the one pushing, commanding the kiss and guiding them together. In reality, it’s all been Jamie, and Tyler is just holding on and trying to keep up, his hands sliding in to Jamie’s slightly damp hair to hang on as Jamie presses him back into the couch.

When Jamie runs his tongue along the seam of his lips, Tyler gasps and opens his mouth for Jamie. It feels good and intoxicating but too fast at the same time. He wants Jamie, he does, but they’ve covered a lot of ground in so few hours that he’s not sure he’s ready yet to have sex with Jamie. Jamie seems to sense it and slows things down to just a few pecks on his lips, their foreheads pressed against each other while they catch their breaths. 

“That clear enough?” Jamie whispers.

Tyler laughs and gently shoves Jamie in the shoulder. Jamie inches back so he’s sitting upright again, pulling on Tyler so he follows him up.

He’s sure if anyone saw them goofily grinning at each other, they’d think they’d lost their minds. But no one’s around and he’s with Jamie, who loves him, and kissed him, and wants to date him. There’s a reason for the goofy grin, and he doesn’t want to hide it.

His phone buzzes on the counter, breaking the moment, and he glances down at his watch to see the message scroll on its face. It’s his mom telling him they’ve left the lake house and that the boys miss him. He needs to be back over there by the afternoon so he can let them out and feed them. Maybe Jamie will want to come with him? 

“When are you going back to Dallas?”

Jamie shrugs one shoulder and scratches the back of his head. “I actually hadn’t bought a return flight yet? I wasn’t sure how long things would take.” 

Smiling, Tyler asks, “Do you want to stick around a little longer? See the lake house… the boys? They’d love to see you.” 

“How long are you thinking?”

Tyler shrugs casually, his shoulder brushing Jamie’s arm that’s resting along the back of the couch beside him. “A week maybe? However long you can give me…” He knows he’s blushing, and he tries to portray a look of calm and indifference in spite of his reddened cheeks.

A teasing smirk plays on Jamie’s face, “A week to see the lake house and the puppies? Anything else?” He’s leaning in again, and Tyler wants to both kiss him and smack him. 

“I’m sure I could come up with some activities to make it worth your while.” 

“Oh, I know you could.” 

Tyler decides kissing is the better option, so he goes with it.


	7. Chapter 7

**** **Jamie**

It’s August, and Jamie feels the beads of sweat rolling down his back and his temple as he stands outside in the sweltering Texas heat in a full suit. He looks at his watch and sighs. They’ve should’ve left for the wedding five minutes ago, but Tyler’d stepped outside and decided it was far too hot to wear that particular suit and went back inside to change. 

Jamie’s positive it’s less to do with the suit or the heat and more to do with the fact they will be showing up to this wedding together. 

As each other’s dates.

The week at the lake house with Tyler had been amazing. It was like all the other times they’ve hung out together and yet wholly different. They fished, worked out, grilled, and swam, and it was probably the most relaxing, least stressful week Jamie’s had in awhile. And mixed in with the swimming and fishing, they kissed and cuddled and though it took a bit for them to work up to it, made love.

In truth, Jamie didn’t ever want to leave. They were blissfully in their own private bubble where they could be with each other, explore each other, and be themselves without fear of someone finding out or worrying about what others would think or say. There was a brief moment of awkwardness when Tyler’s lawyer sent him the annulment paperwork to sign, but Jamie cheered Tyler up with his mouth and hands, so it turned out okay.

As much as Jamie wanted to stay in that bubble with Tyler, he had to go. He had obligations in Dallas and had promised himself that he was going to spend the rest of the summer working with a skate coach to improve to have a better season. Tyler had his own events to attend, both golf tournaments and best friends’ weddings. Jamie had suggested he could be his date, but even he knew it was too early in their relationship to do that. So reluctantly, Jamie had kissed Tyler goodbye and flew back to Dallas.

The rest of the summer they had texted and Face timed. Tyler came back to Dallas a couple times, and they tried to make the most of the time he had available with Jamie. When they had this wedding in August they were both attending, Jamie had suggested going together again, and this time, to Jamie’s surprise, Tyler had readily agreed.

This wedding is going to be a Star-studded event, and Jamie’s positive the Dallas Stars mascot is going to show up. It’ll be the first event that he and Tyler will publicly be together as a couple. They’ve told a few people in the front office and their families know, but other than that, no one else knows that he and Tyler are dating.

They’ve tried to be casual about it. They’ve skated together at unofficial practices and acted like it’s not a big deal. The issue is that it’s not any different than they acted before, so he doubts anyone that’s seen them has suspected anything more than friends between them. Jamie kind of hopes that continues because it’s not their business anyway. He’ll tell the team, of course, but he doesn’t think they’ll care as long as they keep playing like they have (or better), though the chirping might increase. 

Finally, the front door opens, and Tyler steps out and turns to lock the door behind him. He’s in slightly lighter pants, and a shorter sleeve button-up, the tie he had on earlier is nowhere in sight, and he’s got his suit jacket slung over his shoulder. Jamie knows he’s not even going to wear it, so he’s not sure why he’s bringing it, but he doesn’t say anything.

“Dude, why didn’t you start the car and the AC?” Tyler asks as he gently smacks Jamie in the arm with the back of his hand. 

“Because you insisted on driving your car, and you have the keys still,” Jamie replies an eyebrow raised, his face flat.

Tyler fishes his keys from his pocket and gives Jamie a sheepish, apologetic smile. “Oops. Sorry.” Jamie rolls his eyes in fondness and sweeps his arm out for Tyler to lead the way. 

Instead of taking the direction, Tyler pulls on Jamie’s extended arm and reels him into a kiss. “Thanks for waiting,” Tyler whispers against his lips. 

Jamie smiles and kisses Tyler again. “Of course.” He kisses him one more time and then pulls Tyler towards the car. “Come on, we’ll be late, and I’m dying in this heat.” 

Tyler laughs and quickens his steps and unlocks the car and starts it so the AC can start cooling them down. Jamie watches with a smile on his face as Tyler plugs in their destination in his GPS and starts driving. He’s nervous about the reactions they’ll get at the wedding, but with Tyler by his side, he knows he can handle it. 

* * *

**Tyler**

Tyler’s grinning at Jamie as he laughs at Kari’s story. The wedding had been beautiful, and now that they’re seated and eating, Tyler can’t keep his eyes off of Jamie. He knows he’s not being subtle, but they had shown up together and had decided beforehand that they weren’t going to hide the fact they were dating if anyone asked. So he shamelessly smiles at Jamie, knowing anyone could see the hearts in his eyes, and reaches over to lace his fingers through Jamie’s hand that’s resting on the table. Kari pauses briefly when he notices, but continues with his story as if he hadn’t. 

Later on, after the happy couple has been introduced as Mr. and Mrs. and they’ve mingled and danced and drank and ate, Tyler comes back to the table where Jamie has an arm slung over the empty chair beside him and is talking with Bish and his wife. Tyler takes the empty seat by Jamie and leans into Jamie’s side, resting his arm on Jamie’s thigh. Jamie squeezes his shoulder and doesn’t move his arm from the back of Tyler’s chair and continues talking to Bishop as if nothing’s happened. 

Ben Bishop seems unfazed by the closeness between them, but Mrs. Bishop notices and shifts her gaze between him and Jamie as if she’s trying to puzzle something out. When Jamie’s and Bish’s conversation slows, she asks, “So, you’re actually _together_ together? Not at the wedding as friends because you couldn’t find dates?”

Tyler laughs, and says, “Yes, we’re together. We’re dating.”

Mrs. Bishop seems to light up excitedly at the news. “That’s wonderful. How long have you been dating?”

“Just a few months,” Jamie answers.

At the comment Bish looks at them with his brow furrowed as if he’s confused. “A few months?” he asks.

“Yeah. Officially started dating end of June,” Tyler replies. 

“Oh,” Bish says. “That’s… I thought you guys were already together, like way before that.”

Both Jamie and Tyler look at each other, confused. “Why… why would you think that?” Tyler cautiously asks, curious why Bish would think they were a couple before they actually were. 

Bishop reaches for his phone and gives his wife a look that she must understand because she excuses herself to get another glass of wine, leaving the three men alone at the table. He messes with the phone for a minute, swiping on the screen a few times before he finds what he wants and then turns it to show Jamie and Tyler.

On Bishop’s phone is a picture of Tyler and Jamie grinning at each other beneath a flowery arch, gold rings shining and clearly visible on their intertwined fingers.

“You knew!?” Jamie blurts out at the same time Tyler says, “You were there?!” Tyler stares at the picture in Bishop’s hand in shock because… how is that-- Bishop knew all this time?!

Bishop shrugs at their twin looks of disbelief and answers, “You asked me to be the witness. I thought it was a joke or some prank or something, but you guys looked really in love during the whole thing, so… I thought maybe it was real? Was it not?”

Tyler and Jamie look at each other again and then back to Bishop.

“Well, we’re not married, now. We… had it annulled,” Jamie says.

“But we’re dating now,” Tyler adds.

Bishop nods like this all makes sense. “That’s good. You guys are happier together.” 

Tyler turns to smile at Jamie, and Jamie is wearing a matching grin.

“Wait,” Tyler says, turning back to Bishop, “Why didn’t you say anything before this? Or like ask us after it happened?”

“When you didn’t mention it and I didn’t hear anything about it on TV, I figured maybe I’d been right about it being a joke. Or that maybe you wanted to keep it a secret. So, I kept it secret, too.” He says it like it isn’t a big deal, like it’s what anyone else would’ve done. And maybe… at least for anyone else on the team, it is what they would’ve done.

“That’s… thanks, Bish,” Jamie says, and Bishop nods.

“Bish,” Tyler says, clapping him on the knee, “if Jams and I get married again for real, you’re going to be our witness, front and center, and you won’t need to keep it a secret.”

At this Bishop laughs and shakes his head. “Sounds good. I’ll be there.”

* * *

And true to his word, a couple years later, not in Vegas but at a vineyard in Ontario, Bishop is there, front and center, to witness the union of Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin.

Again. But for real.

**Author's Note:**

> *Note: I do plan on writing a deleted scene about their time in the lake house, but I wasn't able to finish it in time for this initial posting. I hope to finish and post it soon though!
> 
> Come say hi on [my tumblr](http://literaryoblivion.tumblr.com/) or [my twitter](http://twitter.com/lit_oblivion).

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Waking Up with You](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21187793) by [countessmry (ro_mm_ck)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ro_mm_ck/pseuds/countessmry)


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